


Enemies in Unlikely Places

by nerdguy3000



Series: Leo and Alba [9]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angst, Episode: s02e18 The Frenemy of My Enemy, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Leo Fitz Feels, Leo Fitz-centric, Seizures, Service Dogs, Weakness, shaking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:48:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27434590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdguy3000/pseuds/nerdguy3000
Summary: Fitz has reunited with Hunter and Coulson but he has to work with the man who caused him so much pain
Series: Leo and Alba [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1834102
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	Enemies in Unlikely Places

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, sorry it been so long since I updated this, I've been busy with uni.
> 
> I don't have any first-hand experience with service dogs or seizures, all my info came from online so if I've got something wrong please let me know!

Fitz walked quickly through the crowd, his backpack filled with equipment weighing heavily on his back and his mind. Alba walked beside him, not on a leash so they could run untethered if they needed to. Once again, he checked over his shoulder, the tail was still there and far too close for his liking. He took a steadying breath and looked down at Alba, who was watching him intently, still doing her job as although she didn’t have a leash on, she had a harness on and that meant she was working. With one final look over his shoulder and Fitz took off, he briefly thought about a time where he could barely stand after his injury, look at him now. Alba was keeping up with him, right behind him, Fitz gave a small signal and Alba moved to his side, she had to be close for what was to come.

As he approached the road, Fitz gave a quick check and saw the car driving towards them. He knew they could make it past it but hoped it would slow down the men running behind them. He ran into the parking garage and made a be-line for the stairs in the corner that would take him to the top level. His breath was coming in hard and fast, his lungs burn but god had he missed this feeling, the adrenaline made him feel alive. He finally felt like an agent again. He let Alba go in front of him and she bounded up the stairs, quicker than he could keep up with but she was out of danger.

As he made it to the top he saw the back of an open Quinjet with Hunter holding onto Alba as she panted excitedly. He made it over the threshold and Coulson pressed the button and the Quinjet closed, now entirely invisible to the people who made been chasing Fitz and Alba. Breathing heavily Fitz made his way to the screen near the front of the Quinjet as Hunter kneeled down giving Alba some love after not having seen her for a few weeks. Hunter then secured Alba under one of the foldable chairs so she would be comfortable as they took off. One of the men chasing Fitz ran directly into the Quinjet and with that, they took off.

“Mike,” Fitz said as he realized who was piloting the jet.

“Hey Fitz, good to see you again.”

“New Hardware, hey how did you upgrade?” Fitz moved toward the other man, curious about the new upgrades, and feel a pang of betrayal that it hadn’t been him that had made Mike’s new tech. Before he could get any closer Coulson gently touched his arm, guiding him back toward a seat so he could get settled for the flight.

He sat down in the seat above Alba who sat up and gave him and sniff before she settled down again for the journey, resting her head on his foot. He pulled the bag off his back and rested in on the floor in front of Alba who took no notice of it. He opened it up just as Coulson asked about the Toolbox and tossed it at the older man.

“Yeah it's been a while since I’ve been in the field solo, not since umm…” he gently tapped a finger against the side of his head and looked down at Alba, sadly.

“It looks like you held up alright,” Hunter said, trying to lighten the mood.

Fitz took a breath and then continued, “yeah held up quite well actually. And you?”

“Fitz, we need to find Skye. Problem is, all we know is that she was taken by the same powered man who took Raina and Cal.” Straight into the problem, it was most likely best not to dwell on the stress that had just come as he may need Alba.

“Do we have any leads?”

“No, but Hydra might.”

“Hydra’s new heads, Strucker and List. My sources say they’re researching powered people. Apparently, they’re even more obsessed than Whitehall.” Fitz took off his glasses, folded them, and then his arms. This was a lot of information to process but he could do it, he was ready to properly prove himself, when it mattered.

“We need to know what they know. Get into Hydra,” Hunter added.

“Desperate times, desperate measures. Count me in.” He could do this.

Hunter and Coulson shared a look that Fitz couldn’t quite decipher, hunter looked concerned whereas Coulson was stony. Whatever they were planning, he wasn’t going to like it, but now was his chance to prove himself.

“I’m relieved to hear you say that. We’re making a deal. With Ward.”

Fear ran through Fitz like scalding water, bubbling and burning, leaving a pit of dread in his stomach. He looked at Hunter hoping to god this had been some form of practical joke, they couldn’t be serious. The last time he had seen Ward, as Ward was being led out by Coulson, Fitz had left the lab and had a panic attack so bad Alba had to find Mack so he could help Fitz calm down. He didn’t know if he could handle this. But it was for Skye, his friend, and he would do whatever it took.

He took a steadying breath and reached a hand down until he could rub his hand over Alba’s head, who had sat up sensing the distress of her owner.

“I know this is going to be hard, I don’t like it either, but we have to get Skye back, any means necessary,” Coulson said, half distracted by the toolbox. Fitz looked over at Hunter who gave him a sympathetic look, then turned away from him. Taking another deep breath, Fitz settled himself into his seat for what would probably be the longest flight of his life.

* * *

While Coulson left with Mike to find Ward, Fitz helped Hunter gather the equipment they might need together. His hands shook gently and fumbled gently with the gun as he tried to put it in his holster, finally he pushed it in with more force than was strictly necessary. He took a shaky breath and before he could continue with what he was doing, Alba pushed Fitz into a sitting position and lay over his legs, providing some much-needed deep pressure therapy.

“This is crazy,” Fitz exclaimed, burying his hands in Alba’s golden fur and trying to ground himself. Hunter started packing up the box as Fitz continued, “We wanna find Skye, yes, Ok? But if we are making a deal with…”

As Fitz spoke Hunter continued to pack away the crates, “the devil.”

Fitz sighed and looked down at Alba.

“I’m afraid it’s in the job description, mate. Expedient alliances with despicable characters.”

Fits looked up at Hunter with a questioning look on his face, “so, you’d work with Bobbi?”

Hunter hesitated for a moment, “no, not a chance, and point made.”

Hunter moved to sit on the floor of the Quinjet across from Fitz, “look, mate, we’re infiltrating Hyrda. Our options are limited. Ward is a psychopath. But for now, he’s our psychopath. So, we use him to stay one step ahead.”

Fitz knew it was logical but the thought of facing Ward again filled him with dread. The only thing keeping him sane was Alba and running his trembling hands through her soft fur. All he wanted was to be back on the base with Jemma. They could curl up on a couch and put on Doctor Who, letting all the worries and arguments fall away.

Alba suddenly alerted and Fitz looked over at Hunter who nodded and moved over to grab the stopwatch from Alba then moved to put something under Fitz's head. They waited in silence until it started, Hunter looked on worriedly, he had only ever helped Fitz on his own one other time and felt wildly under prepared. Alba was a natural, Hunter noticed, she lay down on one side of Fitz, bracing him with her body, and seemed totally at ease. After just under a minute Fitz stopped seizing and lay still, Hunter found this slightly more disconcerting, he looked like a corpse lying on the ground. Alba moved from his side and grabbed a bottle of water that Fitz has been drinking from the floor and brought it over. Realizing that she had it under control, Hunter went to make sure everything else was in place and it gave Fitz a bit of privacy. He relaxed a little more as he heard a Scottish accent softly praising the dog but went about his business.

After ten minutes of Fitz lying on the floor, getting his energy back, and trying to relax, Hunter got a message from Coulson that he was on the way back, with company. He looked over at Fitz who looked almost peaceful with a ball of fluff lying next to him, Hunter smiles turned into a grimace.

“Fitz, Coulson is on his way back. With Ward.” Fitz's hand stopped stroking Alba as his whole body tensed. For a moment Hunter thought Fitz was about to have another seizure then he saw the man in question push himself up, attempt to start pacing, then fall back into a seat as his legs shook violently. “Mate, it’s going to be okay, he’s not going to touch you. I’d cut his hand off before he touched you.”

Fitz looked up gratefully at Hunter and gave him a shaky half-smile. He got himself properly situated in one of the seats, Alba curled up under the seat, head resting on his foot.

* * *

The silence was palpable as Grant Ward enter the Quinjet, Fitz looked up as he heard footsteps clang against the metal ramp then quickly looked away, his breathing sped up and his leg began to shake. Everyone noticed the change in the young engineer and a smirk graced the lips of Ward which didn’t go unnoticed by Hunter.

Coulson looked up at the three people he had brought aboard the Quinjet, and noticed them staring at the dog, obviously not expecting someone with a service dog to be in the field or even part of SHIELD. “No one touches the dog, she’s working.”

They sat in relative silence as Mike got the Quinjet in the air. Alba had sat up so Fitz could rub her head in an attempt to calm himself. He had one hand on her head and on hand on his gun. No matter what assurances Hunter had made, Fitz would never be able to relax around the traitor. He could vaguely hear Coulson giving a briefing, but he couldn’t bring himself to tear his eyes away from Ward. There were conversations going around him, he even recognized the Hunter talking from the other side of him, but all he could think about was the danger that he and Alba were in. She was a dog, just as defenseless as he and Simmons had been when they were dumped in the ocean.

A gentle hand over his own brought Fitz back to his body, he removed his hand from his weapon and looked down at Alba. He sighed a shaking breath, and his legs shook even harder. He could feel his hands begin to tremble and curled them into fists on his legs, Alba placed her head on his thigh missing the pats he had been giving her.

“So, Fitz,” his head shot up, looking at the man who had tried to kill him, “how’ve you been?”

Fitz didn’t know what possessed him to do it. His body was already tired from the seizure and, even if it hadn’t been, he was no match against a fully trained agent. But one moment he was trying to work workout why Ward had addressed him and the next he had launched himself out of his seat and towards the traitor. Both Coulson and Hunter grabbed him, which he was grateful for as the moment he stood up his legs almost failed him and after a few steps, he could barely stand. They pulled him back and also help him up so he could sit back down next to Alba, who looked confused at why Fitz had thrown himself out of his seat.

“Stay down, Agent Fitz!” Coulson said, standing in front of Ward so Fitz didn’t have to see him while he calmed down. Hunter sat down next to him and lay a firm but comforting hand on his leg.

“Bakshi, sir… Bakshi, no, he is…” Fitz fumbled over his word and cursed inwardly. “He is the exact same as Ward. So, he will double-cross us the second that he is with Hydra.”

Fitz tried to gesture with his hands but the shaking and exhaustion in them was too intense and the lay numbly across his legs, enough that Alba could put her nose under Fitz's hand.

“Yes, he would, if he was going in alone.”

Everyone turned and looked at Coulson, surely none of them would be going in alongside Bakshi.

“He’s not?” Ward questioned and Coulson stepped aside so he could look at Fitz as he answered.

“He’ll have his bodyguard with him.”

“That’d be me.” Mike pipped up from the cockpit, having been listening to the conversations happening behind him.

“We’ll monitor the entire meet through Mike’s eye.”

Ward looked concerned and that, which pleased Fitz, “Dr. List’s instructions were explicit. Bakshi was to come alone.”

“Luckily, Bakshi is good at talking his way out of things. Aren’t you?”

“I’ve been told it’s one of my more useful skill sets, yes.”

“See? No problem.”

As much as Fitz thought Coulson was crazy for having trusted Ward, at least he hadn’t completely lost his mind.

The rest of the flight was painfully uncomfortable, and Fitz found his eyes slipping shut. He glanced over at Hunter who was glaring at Ward, it put Fitz more at ease, and with a sigh, he closed his eyes. He hadn’t realized that he had fallen asleep until Hunter nudged him gently, the low rumbling of the Quinjet had stopped and Fitz saw Coulson talking quietly to Mike. Coulson then turned and started briefing the team, Fitz zoned out, he knew what he would be doing so instead he started to rub the top of Alba’s head with his shaking hands. Absently he noticed Mike and Bakshi leaving, Hunter offer his hand and pulled Fitz up, who still felt a little bit shaky, a combination of fear and recovering from a seizure made his legs feel weak. He walked slowly and got himself situated in front of the monitors. He tried to ignore the man just over his shoulder who not long ago had tried to kill him and Jemma. The weight of Alba at his feet grounded him a little as he got everything set up so they could see through Mike's eye.

“We are online,” Fitz stated as the feed from Mike's eye came through and everyone leaned a little as Bakshi began speaking with his slimy tone. He put a hand down and ran it through Alba’s fur while focusing on the screen. Behind him, he heard Coulson and Ward talking and took a steadying breath. This wasn’t fair, Ward should be locked up but right now he was standing behind Fitz, talking as if nothing had even happened. The tension was palpable as the question of Bakshi began and at any moment they could be sold out by the man. Fitz's hand shook as he petted Alba, this was one of the most stressful things he had done after his injury and he had been shot at, had the plane almost explode around him, and had learned how to live with seizures and everything that came with that but sitting in this chair, so close to the man who almost killed him was pushing him to his breaking point.

Then just as Fitz had thought Bakshi started to betray them, offering Mike. Arguing broke out above him and before he knew it, he felt the gun being removed from his holster and an arm going around his throat. He felt fear rise in him and the tip of a knife was pressed against his neck. He grabbed Kara’s arm and struggled a little, but he was too worried. He made the motion for stay as he saw Alba about to get up, he knew what Ward could do to a person, he didn’t want to know what he would do to a dog.

“Do you want to get to Strucker or not?” Ward said, pointing his gun at Coulson. He knew that Hunter wouldn’t take the shoot if both him and Coulson were in danger, he couldn’t take them both out.

“Fitz? Are you alright?” Hunter asked

“Yeah, I- I’m delightful.” He replied, not taking his eyes of Ward. He tried to take a steadying breath but couldn’t get one in around the arm against his throat.

“Strucker wants powered people. Bakshi alone doesn’t get you to him, Ward shouted, “Deathlok does. And he can take care of himself, trust me.”

At the mention of Mike, Fitz looked up at the screen as arguments continued around him. Mike was starting to pick his targets having had no input from them.

“Umm, sir?” Fitz tired but Kara tightened her arm around his throat.

“What if this goes south? Would you have been willing to sacrifice Mike?”

“That wasn’t your call to make.”

“Sir, Deathlok, he’s emmm…” of course his words would fail him at this crucial moment.

“Is that Deathlok’s targeting system?” Thank god for Hunter.

“Yes! He’s gonna… He’s about to kill everyone.” Fitz managed to get out, not that he would be particularly sad about that. Feeling her owner getting stressed Alba moved to provide DPT on his lap, lifting her front paws and resting her body weight on him. Kara pushed the knife in a little bit more but the confront brought by Alba was worth it.

“Not a bad idea actually,” Hunter said, taking the words right out of Fitz’s mouth.

“No! We need them alive! Fitz, tell Mike to stand down.”

“Yeah, no, that’s not gonna happen,” Fitz said, not being able to move with the knife against his neck.

“Let him go, 33.”

“My name is Kara, and I don’t work for you anymore.”

“Weapon systems are hot.”

“On the count of three, we all put our weapons down.”

“Three!” The relief from being let go almost made Fitz cry but he still had a job to do. He gently pushed Alba off and then began to type a message, willing his fingers to cooperate. He managed to type the message out and Mike stood down.

As if Fitz day couldn’t get worse the one thing that he had hoped to avoid happened, Alba began alerting. He didn’t want to show that weakness in front of Ward but he couldn’t ignore what was happening. He looked up at Coulson who had also noticed.

“Hunter, help Fitz,” Coulson said, then he turned the glare at the Hydra agents, “you two stay here and out of their way.”

Fitz made his way to the back of the Quinjet and lay down, trying not to think about how vulnerable he was. Hunter was right behind him with a bottle of water and a blanket which he put under Fitz’s head.

“It’s gonna be alright mate, just try not to think about it,” Hunter spoke in soft tones so only Fitz could hear him and positioned himself to try and block the other's view of Fitz, he did need an audience. Then it started and Hunter started the stopwatch as Alba lay up against Fitz to hold him in place.

When Fitz awoke they were back in the air, he could vaguely hear Dr. List’s voice talking about quantum entanglement, Hunter was splitting his attention between Fitz and what was coming through the monitors and helped Fitz into a sitting position while complaining that he didn’t like or understand science. Fitz listened quietly to the science and what List was trying to say, as Alba lay over his legs, something sounded familiar but he wasn’t sure what yet.

“The- the teleporter,” Fitz said as everything finally came together.

“What?” Coulson asked, turning from the screen to focus on Fitz.

“They’re tracking the teleporter. The one that, um, took Cal in Wis-Wisconsin and R-Raina.”

“And Skye?” Coulson asked quietly.

“This is about Skye?” Ward said, almost to himself but everyone heard him.

“Why would Hydra want her?”

Coulson and Fitz shared a concerned look before Coulson turned and replied, “Don’t know.”

As the traveled Hunter helped Fitz to his feet and back to the computer screens, they were going to need all the help they could get. They landed after a short period and he monitored Mike as Hyrda stormed the office building and the unconventional team began to get their vests on.

“Sir! Its Skye! Skye is her!”

“Where?”

“Uhh, tenth floor.”

As Ward and Kara exchanged words, Hunter put his hand on Fitz's shoulder, squeezing gently to ask if he was okay, to which he nodded. Then they were all off to try and save Skye and stop Hydra. He kept his eye on the screens as Alba lay her head on his leg and he took a deep breath, he was still a valuable agent, even with his seizures.


End file.
